How Moreton Bay is tackling wild weather

Above: Centenary Lakes under water as far as the eye can see. Pictures courtesy for City of Moreton Bay.

There is growing concern over the northern part of the City of Moreton Bay, especially the upper Caboolture River says Mayor Peter Flannery, as evacuation centres and places of refuge open.

It follows more than 12 hours of severe thunderstorms and heavy rain which the mayor says is worse than the severe weather of February 2022.

More than 10 swift water rescues were conducted this morning in Bray Park and City of Moreton Bay SES has asked for help from Redlands and Brisbane SES.

Evacuation centres have opened at South Pine Indoor Sports Centre, Caboolture Memorial Hall, Woodford Community Hall, Beachmere Hub, Samford Community Hub and Bribie Island Recreation Hall.

City of Moreton Bay libraries are also now open as places of refuge. 

There are, at the time of writing, 400 residents without power, mostly in Bray Park and Kurwongbah. 

For the latest updates go to the Disaster Dashboard. Click here

At 1pm more than 90 State-controlled and Council roads were closed due to the weather. See the list here

Mayor Flannery said “localised heavy rainfall is expected again tomorrow and will bring an increased risk of flash flooding".

“With the catchment area already saturated, the rainfall overnight and today has caused flash flooding, road closures, livestock issues and landslides,” he said.

“Samford, Bray Park and Caboolture South have been seriously impacted, with many other suburbs also suffering impacts to homes, roads and infrastructure.”

Samford has received 244mm of rainfall since midnight. There is a 0.05 per cent chance of this happening annually, making the rainfall event in Samford extreme.

Bray Park has had 235mm since midnight and 275 mm has been recorded at Bribie Island Road.

“These rainfall intensities far exceeded those experienced in these areas during the February 2022 severe weather and flooding event,” Mayor Flannery said.

“The City of Moreton Bay is currently in a response phase. This is a rapidly developing situation, and our priority is the safety of our residents.

“We encourage people to view the Disaster Dashboard for up-to-date details.

“Once the wet weather response is under control we will focus fully on the recovery phase, but our Moreton Recovery Group has already moved to start preparatory actions to understand the situation now.

“This situation is not over and will continue for weeks and months.”

City of Moreton Bay Disaster Management teams and SES have been operating since last night with more than 84 requests for help now received.

There were 92 roads – both state and council - closed at 1pm.

“It is currently too difficult to assess the impact on infrastructure in several areas including Samford due to road closures," the Mayor says.

"But we are continuing to work to gain access and identify all impacts across our city.

“Safety of residents is our prime concern. We encourage people to stay home - if it’s flooded forget it.”

“If people need to leave their home or workplace due to flooding, we advise going to family and friends first.”

For the latest updates go to the Disaster Dashboard. Click here